Bloggers

I don't know about you, but I am constantly thankful for this little corner of the internet that I get to share with fellow bloggers. I have never "met" more inspirational and creative people in my life. I am so thankful that every day I have the chance to be inspired by others, and that others are kind enough to share their inspiration and creativity with me. It sometimes is the only thing that keeps me going. Remember that there are people out there that think like me, and that are driven by creativity and passion.

I just wanted to share with you all a few of my favorite bloggers of the moment. There are seriously sooo many you guys, but I needed to keep the list rather short. I hope to do this more often, but here are some lovelies that just make me think and give me constant creative ideas on the daily. And I promise there are soo many more. I wish I could share them all.

Art Fawn.. you guys seriously. This lady is amazing. Her photos are always lovely, and her style is unreal. I am so glad that I stumbled upon her blog a couple months ago. She seriously is the sweetest, and you just can't help but want to be her best friend!

Chronicles of She..talk about someone who is always thinking of others. I promise you will just love her. Reading her blog always makes me want to better myself and help others. Also follow her on Insta! Her pics are the bomb!

Lifesize Paperdoll.. The lovely Maggey is always a constant inspiration to me. From her style, to making things happen for herself. She is currently living the dream interning in the incredible Seattle, and believe me... just read about some of her adventures and you will want to be her. Plus, she is freaking hilarious!

Owls In My Heart.. oh my goodness, where to even begin when it comes to the lovely Stephanie. Her words have the power to break your heart, and than put you back together again. I promise in a good way. This lady has a way with words, and her pictures are always a delight. She really is probably one of the most creative seeking ladies, and she inspires me so much.

Shake, Rattle and Ramble.. I don't think there is a blogger that makes me thing more than Meg does. Her posts are some of the few that no matter what I HAVE to read, because there is just always something there. She just has a way of putting things that completely changes your outlook, or just makes you smile because you are so happy that someone gets it. Like seriously every day you guys!

The S Diaries.. Shawnee is one of the raddest ladies I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know through blogging. She seriously is just one- of- a kind, and her blog is always such a pick-me-up. This girl always has the best quotes, and is such a cool hippie at heart. I just stinking love her to pieces! I want to be her.

Tightrope to the Sun.. I don't think I will ever meet a more talented writer in all my life. Seriously you guys, I wish she could write my life. I have never known someone who uses words so effortlessly. I seriously feel like I am constantly in awe at the beauty of her words when I read her posts. She is just fantastic ok!

Well I hope that you guys take the time to go and visit ALL these lovely ladies. It is definitely worth the time, and I'm sure most of you know of each other already. That is the other great thing about blogging. We all seem to find ourselves connected at some point. Isn't it great?!

What are some blogs that you constantly find as a go-to for inspiration, or to get the creative juices flowing??

Things That Caught My Eye

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1. Amen. (via Tumblr)
2. Watermelon! I feel like summer doesn't officially start until you have something watermelon. (via Pinterest)
3. Rope swings. Another summer favorite.  (via Many Random Musings)
4. This light! (via Flickr)
5. Just reminds me of summer.. do you see a pattern developing? (via Tumblr)
6. I want to be cool enough to dress like this! (via Pinterest)
7. Some words to think about.. I still want one of these. (via Tumblr)
8. I still want one of these. Like more than anything.  (via Tumblr)
9. Because I love here.. duh!  (via Pinterest)
10. Free..  (via we heart it)

Also..

Emma's PERFECT post on Gatsby. Like literally, these might be the best most passionate post I have ever read. If you are a Gatsby fan check it out here. If you are not a Gatsby fan.. read it anyway. I am serious. This lady has a way with words.

The cutest engagement story EVER! You guys, it involves a puppy..

Enjoy!

Guest Post: Anna

Today I have the lovely Anna guest posting for me! All I have to say is get ready to laugh, and check out her blog! Check out all my guest blogger's blogs!! Because they are all fantastic, I promise. 

Hi! I am Anna and I blog over at Anna Apricot. I blog about basically any and everything. Things can get a little crazy over there. I am so excited to be on Shelby's lovely blog today.

(thats me on the left)

Five Facts about Me!

-I am a student at the University of Utah I graduate next May and I am already counting down the days!!!

- I have an unhealthy addiction to watching sports. Football, soccer, tennis, basketball, you name it and I watch it. 

- In a period of 3 weeks I saw three different actors from the Harry Potter series. Including Harry himself!

- I am OBSESSED with traveling! I have been to 4 continents and can't wait to get to the rest of them.

- I love socks and I wear them at all times, even to bed. Weird, I know.

Now, my inspiration. I get inspired from all sorts of things.

But, I would have have to say my biggest inspiration comes from fashion. In a dream world I would be Rachel Zoe. I could look at clothes all day and never get bored. There is just something about a beautiful dress that really moves me.

Like this one for example,

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Doesn't it just melt your heart?

(If you want to see more dresses that move me look at my pintrest board.)

I also get so much inspiration from quotes. A good quote can change my outlook on almost anything.

These are some of my favorites.

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Now if those are not enough inspiration I just look at some baby goats. It will work wonders.

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 Thanks for having me Shelby!

Guest Post: Meg

I am overjoyed by the requests I got to do guest posts. Each and every single lady that wanted to has a blog that truly inspires me, and who I would want to be best friends with in real life. Like seriously though, they are AMAZING you guys!

We will start with the wonderful Meg from shake, rattle and ramble. Pretty please make sure you check out her blog, because she is absolutely wonderful!!

I have asked each guest poster (is that a word?) to share five random things about themselves, and then what inspires them. I feel think with the transition of seasons everyone gets in a bit of a rut inspiration wise. I am confident these lovely ladies can give you a new perspective on things, so that is why I asked them to share what inspires them. Enjoy!

Five random facts: 1) I do not wear high heels.  2) I play the cello.  3) There is something oddly exciting to me about being "old" one day; I admire the elderly.  4) I am married to a wonderful bearded man who I've known since high school.  5) I wish I had an on/off switch for my thoughts.

On Inspiration:

My personal definition for inspiration is motivation from an outside or third-party influence to express something sincere.  Sincerity is my central objective in anything I do, and I feel very strongly that art, any kind of art, is sincere expression.  If it is not honest, if it is not in earnest, it is not art. 

Now that you know what I consider inspiration to be, I will tell you what specific things inspire me, specifically.  But first, I'm going to do both of us a favor and skip over the obvious, bohemian answers.  What I mean by that are things such as truth, beauty, love, nature, etc, etc.  I do this because everyone in existence with a heart thunking inside of their chest is inspired by these things at some point. Including them in this would be as pointless as writing, "I am human and I breathe air" in my About Me section.  For this reason, I do not feel the need to write about these in particular.

What I have been and continue to be inspired by most are my relationships with others.  The reason, I think, that I am so easily inspired by these is the great potential they have to provide such a wide range of emotion.  Relationships can be the best or the worst things in our lives.  They can cause us great joy or heaping amounts of misery.  They have the power to get under our skin, to take root in our hearts and grow.  It doesn't matter what kind of relationship.  Whether it is romantic, platonic, professional or personal, this whole "getting to know other people" thing is not for the weak-willed. Go through a list of your favorite songs in your mind.  How many of them were written about a relationship?  My guess is, probably the majority.  It seems to me that nothing gets us people smiling, frowning, laughing, crying, jumping for joy or sinking in agony more than human drama.  And, in turn, nothing is more likely to inspire us, to motivate us to create something sincere.

Because my main form of expression is writing, another source of inspiration for me is some good literature.  I love books.   I love the way that reading certain authors causes me to think the way their book reads.  Do you know what I mean?  Suddenly that author's style sinks into my mind, and I hear my thoughts in their voice all day long.  It's oddly enjoyable.  It sort of feels like taking a vacation from my own brain.

 

I recently read a book by Daniel Handler, and it completely changed the way I had been approaching what I wrote.  He is so fearless.  I had a refreshed perspective, and no longer felt hesitant about running with the ideas that came into my mind. 

That's the thing about inspiration.  It can't be accompanied by fear or hesitation.  These are the spoilers of sincere expression.  Inspiration also doesn't always (or, in my case, ever) come all at once.  You've got to keep that faucet of creativity on at all times.  Don't reject the ideas that your brain gives you, appreciate them!  Let your brain know it's doing what you want it to.  Run with it. 
 

"I feel such a creative force in me: I am convinced that there will be a time when, let us say, I will make something good every day, on a regular basis...I am doing my very best to make every effort because I am longing so much to make beautiful things.  But beautiful things mean painstaking work, disappointment, and perseverance." -Van Gogh

Eggleston

Here are a few of the photos from my latest photography assignment. We had to pick a photographer from a list, and re-create three of his photos. I chose William Eggleston. I loved his use of color in photos, and how he believed in capturing the beauty in the mundane things of the world. I felt that I related to him in this way, so naturally I chose him. The first image will be my own followed by the image it was inspired by.

 My image

 William Eggleston

 My image

 William Eggleston

 My image

William Eggleston

To be perfectly honest, these were not my favorite photos I have ever taken. The girls that I had help me were absolutely STUNNING! The sun was just not my friend this day. Oh well, you can't love them all! Here are a few others that I edited just for fun. 

Also, for more of Eggleston's amazing work check out his Artsy page! This page is a fantastic collection of Eggleston's photography, and it also has information on his upcoming shows and articles he has been featured in!  It is really amazing, so definitely check it out!

Challenge Yourself

found here

So as I mentioned before, I have been in a huge fashion rut lately. It is like no matter how hard I try I just can't seem to get passed it. I have been looking at pinterest and lookbook for inspiration, but I really am just not inspired by any of the new looks I am seeing. 

I have decided to go back to the basics. What I mean by this is for the next month I am only going to wear dresses and skirts. NO PANTS! I know, crazy. I have just really been trying to figure out what MY style is lately. I know this is something that will always change, but I want to have a style that defines me. 

found here

 So now comes the hard part. What kind of style defines me? Don't get me wrong, I love a good pair of jeans, a band tee, and some vans. If I could wear that every day I probably would just because of comfort, but when I look in the mirror I am not satisfied. Every once in a while it is just what I need, but I don't know if that is my thing. After thinking long and hard about this, I remembered something my friend Sara said back in this post. Just how inspired she was by the old days when ladies were ladies, and to only wear jeans on bad days. It made me realize that the style I want to portray is one of class. I really believe that the way you dress determines your attitude towards the day, and how you interact with people. I am choosing to only wear dresses and skirts for a month, because I know that when I do I have a more positive attitude towards my day. I sit taller, eat better, and I try harder to use a more sophisticated vocabulary. This is the kind of person I want to be, so I am going to try it out. This is coming from a girl who refused to wear any type of skirt until high school so it may be a little tough at first, but I am determined people! So wish me luck, because I am starting today!